1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to emergency services. More particularly, it relates to selective router (a.k.a., 9-1-1 Tandem) protocol conversion to NENA 08-001 V8 or IETF location to service translation (LoST) protocol.
2. Background of the Related Art
In conventional emergency networks, a 9-1-1 call is placed, and forwarded by an end office to a 9-1-1 selective router. The selective router receives the call, and routes the call to a 9-1-1 trunk line to an associated public safety answering point (PSAP) appropriate for the current location of the caller.
Conventional selective routers define their own interfaces for querying databases for routing information. Developing standards specify a standard protocol for querying databases that store routing information.
FIG. 4A shows a conventional selective router operable to route an emergency call to a PSAP based on a current location of a caller obtained from a Location Information Server (LIS).
In particular, as shown in FIG. 4A, an end user device 10 places an emergency 9-1-1 call, which is routed to a legacy selective router 200 having a particular interface to an appropriate database to obtain the current location of the emergency caller 10, in this case we'll call it proprietary interface A to a Location Information System (LIS) 500. The LIS 500 provides a subscriber record that is typically the registered address (e.g., billing address) entered by the subscriber of the service when initially registering for wireline service. NOTE: A LIS may also have an interface to a service providers mobile environment so that queries for the location of a mobile user are determined at that moment of the emergency call.
FIG. 4B shows a conventional selective router operable to route an emergency call to a PSAP based on a current location of a caller obtained from an Emergency Routing DataBase (ERDB).
In particular, as shown in FIG. 4B, an end user device 11 places an emergency 9-1-1 call, this location serviced by a selective router 300 that has it's own method of obtaining a current location of the caller, e.g., to an Automatic Location Identification (ALI) server. The conventional ALI server provides a means of identifying a caller's address in an E911 emergency call.
Conventionally, companies that sell databases that store routing information also typically develop interfaces to permit the existing selective routers to query those databases.